Now Archive: August 2022

  • 3rd Aug 2022
    •  • 
  • 4 min read

_This is my Now page and here’s what’s up for me these days as of August 3rd 2022. For my current Now page, go here.

  1. Employment Exit Strategizing
    Last month I passed the 2-year mark working in the first full-time employment jobby-job I’ve ever had. I searched for months to find this role and company, and I’m really glad I did! And now…I’m just about done. There’s one more thing I’d like to launch, and aside from that I’ve either done what I came to do or found out it isn’t possible (at least where I am today). Though I have no idea what’s next in life for me, over the next few months and before the end of the year, I am looking seriously at how best to make an exit. I’ve not announced anything yet, and I’m not lining other work up yet either. What I’m doing this month is actively searching for ways empower the team of awesome people that I work with, and to make the company even stronger in my departure. It’s a creative challenge, but one I’ve met before with all my contract work, and that I think I can meet again? Frankly, I wish they’d just lay me off and make it easy for me ;)

  2. Expert Witness work
    Can't say much on this. But I'm doing work that I’m oddly well-qualified for and that I’m happy to provide my independent analysis and opinion on.

  3. Network & Infrastructure
    I’ve got my new Ubiquiti Dream Machine up and running great! Except that it doesn’t play nicely with my NAS, and I’m going to have to manually configure both to work with each other. So I’ll be learning a lot more about how to do that, and hopefully getting things stable by months’ end.

  4. Medical, Dental, Vision, & Volunteer catchups
    It’s time for my annual physical, dentist visit, vision check, and all that good stuff. Plus, I may well soon be done with the Invisalign braces I got last year, as I’ve been blowing through that process in record time with my accelerated plan. I’m considering starting a 50-day version of my annual 100-days of health drive if I can line it all up well enough with my calendar. Also, my though my employer generously offers two days per year to volunteer for a local or international group, I didn’t manage to take them up on it last year. This month I’m taking one day to volunteer for Pax Natura and another for my local preparedness group. What a cool work perk!

  5. Panama trip prep
    Denise and I had originally planned to visit Panama this month to keep my residency visa current, get one for her, finally obtain my Panamanian driver’s license, and start looking at rental properties there. But due to a variety of factors — including how long it takes to get all the paperwork lined up for us both — that trip is getting pushed into September/October now. We’re still really looking forward to it! And there is much to do.

PPL & Airplane purchase plan update
I got all excited about [buying a plane](https://sam-rogers.com/evaluating-a- cessna-150) a few months ago, but then…it got complicated. I’m not sure if the seller is actually willing to sell me 100% of the plane at the agreed price or not? Time will tell, and luckily I’m not in a hurry. In the meantime I’m also looking at my finances differently, and might not be as enthusiastic as I was before either, based on other potential expenditures (such as a rental in Panama) and life changes. While my Private Pilot License (PPL) isn’t directly dependent on having an airplane of my own, it certainly does make the right to fly one a lot more economical and fun. This month I hope to clear through what’s been stuck around all this, but it’s kind of hard to plan on.

From what I see from the here and Now, that’s what I got.